A 25-year-old man who applied for and received an emergency Indian passport while trying to escape from his employer in Saudi Arabia landed at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here only to be arrested after the authorities discovered that he was an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh.
The accused, Ripan Debnath hailing from Dhaka, allegedly crossed the border into India six years ago. Over the years, he was able to acquire valid documents which he used to get an Indian passport, said the police. He used the passport to apply for a job in Saudi Arabia.
In August 2019, he left for Riyadh to work as a labourer. However within the days, his employer started harassing him. He told the police that his passport was confiscated and he was locked in a room with little food. He was not paid the promised salary either.
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Unable to bear the harassment, Ripan managed to escape from his employer and approached the Indian Embassy for help. “Officials there got him an emergency passport and even helped him book tickets to return to Bengaluru,” said the police. Ripan arrived on Monday at KIA but immigration officials took him into custody after they spoke to him as they suspected something was amiss.
Ripan allegedly confessed that he crossed the border at Bengal and came to India in 2014. He stayed in various parts of the country and with the help of touts got a fake birth certificate. He later applied for a driving licence and Aadhaar. He obtained his passport in Hyderabad, said the police. “We are now trying to track down the tout in Hyderabad who helped him,” the police said.